Why do you need an Estate Planning Attorney?

Estate planning is a step which not many people are willing to take, and they delay it until the moment when it becomes completely necessary.

What’s the reason for that?

Well, it’s quite obvious. Nobody is keen on planning what is going to happen in the event of their death while they are currently living their lives to the fullest.

However, the most common misconception about estate planning is that people often associate it with composing a will, but it is much more complex than that. That’s why you need to hire a professional estate planning lawyer from New York to handle the complexity of an estate plan. An estate plan doesn’t only comprise writing a last will, but it also includes setting up a living trust in the case of physical or mental disability, assigning power of attorney and dealing with estate taxes. This plan is best to be left in the hands of an estate planning attorney, an experienced and knowledgeable professional who will guide you through the whole process.

Here is why you need one.

Estate lawyers know state laws

When you decide to write your last will, you are supposed to be familiar with the laws of your country, so that you know what to include.  The estate laws vary from country to country, so if you are familiar with the legislations of one country, those do not necessarily apply to all of them.

An estate planning attorney would be the perfect person to inform you what to include and what not to include in your testament or trust, who can be your beneficiary and who can you assign the power of attorney to.

Writing a will is not as simple as it sounds, because not everything you include as your last wish would be considered as valid in the probate process. For example, you can’t transfer all types of property to your heirs, such as joint property.

Also, you can’t leave anything to your pet, so if you want somebody to take care of it after your death, this person will inherit money intended for looking after it.

The estate lawyer will advise you in such matters, so that you alter you will while it’s still possible. Here, you can read some tips on what to include in your will.

Estate lawyers resolve your financial and family matters

An estate planning attorney will carefully look at your valuables and belongings as well as your family situation. The purpose of this is to find out in which category do you belong.

He/ She takes the following things into consideration: how many marriages have you had, are you divorced or a widow/ widower, how many businesses you own, how many children you have or you don’t have any etc.

After the estate lawyer determines your category, you will be advised on the best option of leaving your estate. The lawyer is always objective, so if you hesitate about your heirs, you will be presented with reasonable arguments that will eventually go in favor of one option.

Don’t go for the cheap variant

Since estate planning lawyers are rather expensive to employ, many people avoid hiring them and find some web sites, which provide certain forms for writing a will online. This option is definitely cheaper than having an attorney, but it can cost you a lot later on.

These websites are unreliable and your testament is probably not going to be valid.  Consequently, your heirs will have to hire an estate lawyer and pay a lot of money after your death in order to validate your will if possible.

Learn about the most common mistakes when writing a will on the following link: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/03/writing-a-will-13-common-mistakes-to-avoid/.

Wrap-up

We hope that these reasons helped you realize what is the real importance of having an estate plan and hiring an estate planning attorney.

We know that it isn’t a task you look forward to completing, but it will certainly prove beneficial in the long run. Your heirs will undeniably appreciate it.

Spare some of your time for choosing a lawyer, schedule a meeting and see how it goes.  You will at least get an objective view of your situation and decide what kind of further action to take.

Think about it. You have nothing to lose!